


Fact or Fiction?

by Owlwithafringe



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Fluff, Gift Fic, Gratuitous use of Arthurian Legend, Humor, M/M, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-12
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-12 01:35:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3339065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Owlwithafringe/pseuds/Owlwithafringe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Newly reincarnated Arthur discovers there is entire mythos based entirely around his life. Much to his disgruntlement there's a lot of things that they got wrong in the legends.</p><p>Thanks to Merlin's 'genius' idea, Arthur plots of a way to fix it for good.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fact or Fiction?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WitchoftheWaste](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WitchoftheWaste/gifts).



> You thought you weren't getting a fic, but here's one anyway. Happy birthday WitchoftheWaste. :)

Merlin didn't know why they were doing this. Okay, so perhaps he _did_ know, but it wasn't his fault that Arthur was stubborn. No, what he didn't know was what they were doing this for. What did Arthur get out of it? Merlin didn't understand, but he let Arthur do it nonetheless. He didn't think he could ever deny his king again.

Ever since Arthur had walked out of the Lake of Avalon and adjusted to modern twenty-first century life, he had been obsessed with research.

Research, that is, about himself.

Merlin didn't know Arthur’s head could become any bigger than his past self, but apparently he was wrong.

Arthur had quickly discovered the myths and legends surrounding his life, and it was part of his nature to want to find out what was written about him. Merlin suspected though he also longed to find information about the fate of his surviving friends and Camelot—something Merlin could not tell him as he left soon after Arthur's death, never to return. He couldn't bear to stay in Camelot without him, the city itself a reminder of how he had failed.

There were hundreds, if not thousands of books on 'Arthurian legend', as well as numerous documentaries and films—some fact, some fiction. So, naturally, Arthur wanted to read and watch them all. 

Merlin wouldn't have minded so much that there were piles of books cluttering his poky flat or that Arthur stayed up well into the night reading books in their bed, even though Merlin had asked him twenty minutes ago to turn off the light and go to sleep.

No, he wouldn't have minded if it was purely for educational purposes. If he was truly trying to uncover the different tales of his life. But mostly what he did when he read each book, or watched each film, was sit and comment about how inaccurate it was, how they got this or that bit wrong or that it didn't quite happen like that.

It made Merlin want to bash his against a wall. Or bash Arthur's head against a wall.

"See here, Merlin," Arthur would drawl from his place at the kitchen table whilst Merlin worked on dinner. "This one here is completely wrong. I never met you as a child and you were certainly never an old man."

"Who do you think the old sorcerer who lived in the woods was? You did say I looked very familiar." Merlin snorted as Arthur's face turned into the classic 'shocked' expression.

"That was _you_? That actually makes a lot of sense. But still, I never met you when I was a child. Where would they get that from?"

"Where do they get any of it from?" Merlin shot back, chopping potatoes up to boil. "It's all word of mouth, passed down for centuries. Of course it's going to get muddled. And some people like to embellish their storytelling. For example, I hardly doubt you killed nine hundred and sixty men single-handedly in one battle."

Arthur shrugged causally. "Why? I was pretty good."

"Yes, dear, you were good," Merlin agreed, "but you weren't _that_ good."

"Well, what about the names then, huh, _Mer_ lin? How could they get something so simple as names wrong? 'Morgan Le Fay'? And what's that nonsense about 'The Holy Grail'?"

Merlin wasn't looking in Arthur's direction but he could actually feel the quotation marks. Merlin sighed, suddenly feeling every inch of how old he really was.

"Well then, if you're so insistent on finding a book with the true stories of adventures, then I suggest you start writing it."

When Merlin didn’t get a response, he stopped his chopping, turning around slowly. Arthur was sitting there with a huge grin on his face, looking extremely chuffed with himself. 

"Oh no."

"Oh yes, Merlin." His voice was insistent and far too sweet to be innocent. Merlin regretted ever talking. "For once you've actually had a good idea."

" _No_."

Arthur pushed himself away from the table, standing up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go write a book." He practically skipped away, taking his books with him.

Merlin resolved to go and follow him as soon as he had put the potatoes on boil. If Arthur wanted to write a factual book, then _someone_ needed to make sure he didn't 'embellish' too much either.

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on Tumblr at [Owlwithafringe](http://owlwithafringe.tumblr.com/).


End file.
